The CEO comments:
"The first quarter of 2018 was challenging in many ways, with a long and tough winter that led to reduced consumer sales. Despite this, we achieved the second-best first quarter earnings to date, attributable to recent years’ expansion of operations, including the expansion in Europe and growing e-commerce. In terms of earnings, we achieved our strongest first quarter to date in 2017, with the mild winter that year, affecting the comparison figures this year.  

In the first quarter of 2018, we held up sales well and decreased by just 2 percent organically. Operating profit for the quarter was SEK 56 million, compared with SEK 83 million in the first quarter of 2017. Order bookings during the quarter were 6 percent lower than in the corresponding period in 2017 and the order backlog at the end of the quarter was 8 percent lower. 

The winter and Easter holiday had a negative impact 
As mentioned previously, sales and order bookings were affected negatively by external circumstances, mainly the late, long and cold winter. In Northern Europe, the market remains favourable for craftsmen and many of them prioritized indoor work during the cold winter period. In addition, there were fewer working days in the first quarter of 2018 than in 2017 because the Easter holiday fell in the first quarter this year. As a result of these external factors, the proportion of our sales that were made to consumers, affected profitability negatively.  

In the Sweden-Norway business area, sales fell by 3 percent. At the same time, operating earnings fell, mainly due to a lower proportion of consumer sales. The order backlog decreased by 18 percent compared with last year’s record-breaking first quarter.  

In Finland, reported sales rose by 7 percent while earnings fell. Here too, the proportion of sales to consumers fell, due to the winter, which was also unusually cold in Finland. Outdoor construction even came to a complete standstill for a number of days, which only happens when temperatures are extremely low. 

Continued strong development in Denmark and EBE delivered improved profit  
Development in Denmark remained strong, although both sales and operating profit decreased somewhat compared with the very strong first quarter of 2017. The Danish market remains favourable and we have good gross margins. There is a high level of activity in Denmark, with Inwido launching many new products. 

Within EBE, reported sales rose by 4 percent and operating profit improved, driven primarily by e-commerce and the UK. Ireland and Poland also developed favourably.  

Online shopping is increasing – a trend that favours us as a market leader. We are generally seeing a favourable increase in our e-commerce. With the acquisition of Bedst & Billigst, e-commerce direct to end-customers now accounts for more than 7 percent of our sales, that is almost SEK 0.5 billion on an annual basis. Today, Inwido is the largest e-commerce player in our sector. 

Future prospects 
We are seeing continued high underlying demand in most of our markets, although concerns regarding the economy, the housing market and property prices are affecting consumers, particularly in Sweden.  

During the cold winter, the seasonally weakest period, with lower overall demand, competition has been somewhat fiercer than usual. However, Inwido’s primary exposure to the renovation and consumer market normally entails a favourable mix with better margins. We expect the markets to normalize with the arrival of spring, although the second quarter will also be affected by the late winter.  

In 2017, we generally captured market share, giving us a good starting position. With our strong position in the Nordic region, our expanding business in the rest of Europe and in e-commerce, we perceive good potential to continue growing in 2018, while also making Inwido even more efficient."  

MALMÖ, 26 APRIL 2018

Håkan Jeppsson
President and CEO 

The the full report in the pdf attached